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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0008921862769
Format: Black & White, DVD, NTSC
Label: Alpha Video
Languages: EnglishOriginal Language
Manufacturer: Alpha Video
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Alpha Video
Region Code: 1
Release Date: April 15, 2003
Running Time: 69 minutes
Studio: Alpha Video
Theatrical Release Date: January 21, 1933
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Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
The Vampire Bat, 1933 film
The film begins at night, bats fly about in the dark sky. The night watchman walks along the street. What is on the roof? How to explain the deaths of people found drained of blood? An old history book tells of vampires. Is it only a peasant legend? The people are terrorized by fear. But not Herman! He likes bats, they are warm and fuzzy. Martha is treated by Dr. Niemann. "That's odd." Is Herman in league with the devil? "Just a case of nerves." Poor Martha! The same wounds like the others. Aunt Gussie worries about her heart. Can they believe the legends of vampires? The people will search for Herman and bring him to justice. But Herman escapes forever from their prejudice and grasp.
There we learn the secret. Who is Emil? Georgiana will no longer make good coffee. Where is Herman? He has an alibi! Is there a human madman around? Why would anyone want to sacrifice humans for their blood? What kind of experiment? Niemann's niece learns of his secret but is captured. The prosecutor has a surprise for Niemann! He didn't take those pills. For some unexplained reason Emil turns on his master and the struggle for the pistol provides justice for both men. The last scene provides a laugh to counteract the preceding horrors.
The story seems to lack some transition scenes, and is pretty good until the last ten minutes. It is set in 19th century Germany. With a better writer and story it could have served as an allegory for the actual horrors of 1930s Germany. This made the legends of vampires seem like a child's fairy tale. Imagine evils caused by the leaders of society! It does show how people were fooled by legends when they lacked knowledge of the truth.
Rating:  -
This is not a bad film. In fact, it's a good little film. Instead of shelling out 9.oo for a great little film (under an hour), go over to [...] and watch it and download it for free. They also have got another Lionel Atwill and Fay Wray chiller classic, The horror of the Wax Museum over there.
Rating:  -
The Vampire Bat (Frank R. Strayer, 1933)
Fay Wray's name will be writ large in history as long as films exist for her part in 1933's King Kong; the same cannot be said of the other ten films in which she appeared in 1933, of which the lame, talky, and entirely unsuspenseful The Vampire Bat is one.
The story takes place in a small German village where people are dying with all the requisite symptoms of vampiric infestation; the town's burgermeister (Lionel Belmore) is convinced there's a vampire at work. The skeptical chief of police (Melvyn Douglas) dismisses this as frippery and sets out to look for a more mundane sort of murderer, at least when he's not off playing in the bushes with his lady love (Fay Wray), the assistant to the town's most prominent doctor (Lionel Atwill). Both the burgermeister and the police chief, through separate means, come to suspect the same person: Herman (Dwight Frye), a somewhat slow chap who has a penchant for the theft of apples and an appreciation for beauty in the female form that is not always appropriately masked.
Strayer and screenwriter Edward T. Lowe don't seem to have been able to decide if they wanted to make a horror picture or a comedic mystery here, and the film doesn't transfer nearly as well between states as does, say, The Old Dark House (on whose set much of this picture was filmed; those who have seen Whale's film will certainly recognize the doctor's house). It's certainly worth watching for Melvyn Douglas, who would soon go on to become one of film's most loved stars during the late thirties and the forties, and some of the jokes are on target. The mystery portion of the film, however, is trite and predictable, and the horror never really gets off the ground at all. But hey, at least it's got a cute dog. **
Rating: -
I got this to watch with my son, who is at the age when he is becoming enamoured of monsters and creepy stories, in addition to sci-fi. We both enjoyed it for the atmosphere - in a superstitious "Bavaria", yet with normal british dress clothes and accents. There are a seies of mysterious deaths, marked by two puncture wounds on the necks of victims. The villagers focus their fear and wrath on a retarded man (Dwight Frye), who seems to appear around the victims prior to their deaths and who openly loves bats as "warm like cats." Needless to say, the plot takes unexpected turns and is impossible to predict! The young Faye Wray is also a treat, just before she became a b-movie star in King Kong. There are pretty good characters, including her intrepid cop boyfriend, who erfuses to believe the vampire theory though begins to doubt his doubt. Then, there is the throbbing dirt-like thing - what happened to it?
Great viewing fun: this is the kind of film I watched as a kid late at night at sleepovers. Now I share it with my son, who avidly watches them with me. It doesn't get better than that!
Rating: -
This movie begins much like other vampire movies from the 1930's. There are the stocks in trade of similar movies: much of the film takes place in a European village, Klineschloss, superstitious villagers run about muttering "vampire," much of the film takes place at night, a whacky character that looks like he could be Dracula's sidekick slinks about, and there are men of science preaching rationality. The only unusual feature is a more detailed than usual love story.
The most important attribute of any vampire movie is bodies without blood. You may check that item off on your list. We have bodies without blood; spooky! There must be a vampire running about, right? We see spooky bats in the trees. Oh my, there is a vampire somewhere!
Then there is Herman Gleib, played by Dwight Frye, whose version of Renfield in 1931's "Dracula" remains one of the best. Herman's character in this movie is much like Renfield, and is yet another indication of a vampire lurking about.
The most un-vampire-like part of this movie is the relationship between Karl Brettschneider (Melvyn Douglas, "The Old Dark House," which provided the interiors for this film, "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House," "Hud" and "Hotel") and Ruth Bertin (Fay Wray, who also participated in another movie the same year that some movie fans may know about, "King Kong"). The relationship between these two gets the second most amount of screen time after the bodies and the vampire chasing. I found the romance a little distracting and wondered whether Ruth was going to be one of the vampire's victims; you will have to watch to learn whether she was or not.
I thought the vampire was going to be Dr. Otto von Niemann (Lionel Atwill, "Captain Blood," "The Gorilla," and "Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman"), or he was in league with the vampire. Dr. von Niemann has many of the mannerisms of a vampire, but once again, you will have to discover whether he is the vampire for yourself.
I am somewhat conflicted as to how to recommend this movie. This movie has lots of atmosphere, but little in the way of scare factor, and I thought the ending lacked teeth. If you are an ardent vampire movie fan, then you should probably have this movie for its intriguing take on vampire legends. If you are looking for a vampire movie in the tradition of "Dracula" or the Hammer films of the 50's and 60's, you should probably pass on this one. The bottom line: there are a few good reasons to have this movie in your collection, but almost as many reasons to not have this movie in your collection.
Good luck!
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